


After all this time

by Brunetterebel010



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Drabble, Grief, Implied mental illness, Mourning, War Memorial, mentions of past character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 21:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14553450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brunetterebel010/pseuds/Brunetterebel010
Summary: Reflections on the Battle of Hogwarts on the 20th Anniversary





	1. Vincent Crabbe

Draco closed his eyes and tooka steadying breath as Hermione Granger read Crabbe’s name from the list of Battle Casualties. He wondered for a moment how it must feel for her. She had been there, in the room, when he cast the Fiendfyre that took his life. He’d been trying to kill her and her friends. Now, as Minister of Magic, she stood at the front of Hogwarts’ Great Hall, robed in state dress, stoically reading the names of the lost. In a post-war show of unity, Shacklebolt had declared that Hogwarts students names be read, no matter who they had fought for, as they were children, often simply following their parent’s wishes. That had been Crabbe’s problem. His father had been a hateful man, bitter over the first war, and had raised him ready for the day the dark made a comeback. The man had been proud of his son for giving his life. Draco had just been heartbroken. Crabbe had been one of his most constant companions since their childhood. Losing him was like losing a brother. Now, twenty years on, Draco had lived more of his life without Crabbe than he had with him. He was a man grown, with a family, while Crabbe had never been more than boy. Sometimes, on these days of remembrance, he wondered what kind of man Crabbe would have been. Would he have remained poisoned like his father, or grown past the war? When Scorpius sent home letters with tales of Hogwarts, Draco chuckled to think what Vince would have thought of the pranks, the new professors, and his son’s apparent friendship with Potter’s son. He looked over to where the students were sitting to see the two boys huddled together, their faces solemn. He wondered if Potter’s son knew the tale; it was one that hadn’t been splashed across the Prophet in the weeks following the Battle. Potter and his friends had reported the casualty with minimal details, and for that Draco was grateful, though he wasn’t sure he would ever tell Potter that. Sensing his distress, Astoria gave his hand a gentle squeeze, for which he was very grateful. He wasn’t sure his marriage was a love match, but they were dear friends, and she knew his moods inside and out. He squeezed back gently and let the breath out and Granger read the next name on the list and as always, life moved on.


	2. Colin Creevey

Dennis winced when his brother’s name was read, next to him his daughter sat wide-eyed. She wasn’t old enough for Hogwarts yet and was sat with her parents rather than her siblings. He remembered being her age: seeing Colin off to the train, jealous that his brother might catch a glimpse of Harry Potter while he was stuck at home writing boring book reports. He still had most of the letters Colin had sent him before he started his own time at Hogwarts, and all of the photographs were in an album next to his bed. Sometimes he would thumb through it with a smile. His brother had always seen the world through such an optimistic lens, everything was amazing to him. He’d sent photos of Harry Potter, but also of professors going about mundane daily tasks, and weird creatures he’d thought Dennis would like to learn about. He’d been right, of course, Dennis loved creatures of all sorts and worked with them regularly as a care of magical creatures professor at Ilvermorny. Part of him had wanted to seek the position at Hogwarts, but a bigger part of him didn’t know if he could walk those grounds everyday without his brother beside him. Dennis reached over and put his arm around his daughter, pulling her slightly closer as Minister Granger read the next name on the list, her eyes sad and her voice beginning to shake as if the strain might become too much.


	3. Remus Lupin

Teddy wondered if how he should feel, and Hermione read this father’s name from the list that seemed to have no end. Uncle Harry was shedding silent tears beside him. He felt the weight of the occasion, but not the same way. He didn’t remember these people, they had been family, but were strangers to him now. When he was younger he’d been angry, when he’d heard the tales he’d blamed Harry, blamed everyone for the fact that he didn’t have parents. When he was a child and the Battle was still fresh in the minds of many of its survivors, expressions of sympathy had been commonplace, but they only confused him, and made him feel guilty for not being sad, not missing the strangers who’d given him life. He was sad, in a way, but he couldn’t mourn people he hadn’t known, so he mourned the fact that he hadn’t known them. He was a degree removed from their deaths, something that, once he’d stopped being angry and started expressing, it turned out Harry was all too familiar with. Teddy was a man grown now, but that didn’t stop him from resting his head gently on Harry’s shoulder for a brief moment, the older man squeezed his knee in gentle reassurance, not looking away from Hermione as she read yet another name from the endless list.


	4. Severus Snape

As ‘Mione read the professor’s name from the list, Harry bowed his head. His memories of Snape were still conflicted. He’d had the man declared a hero after the war, shared the memories of his espionage and his work for Dumbledore and made sure that everyone knew he’d given his life to help ensure their victory. As he’d grown older, he hadn’t questioned that the man had been crucial to their victory, and truly was a war hero. But he’d also learned that it was okay to know he was a hero, and still think that he was rather a cruel man. He’d cared in his way, and he’d protected his Slytherins, maybe even loved them, knowing they would face judgement just for where the Sorting Hat sent them, but he’d also terrorized other students. Neville still didn’t go near the dungeons if he could help it. Harry had felt it only fitting to name his son after the two men who had orchestrated the victory and the end of the war, but if was honest with himself, he also felt that by giving those names to his child, he had hoped to associate them with better things than lies and manipulations, and to give their names a change to belong to a good man, who was everything those men had thought they were. As he raised his head, his eyes met Mione’s and though she couldn’t reveal her thoughts from her place, he knew that she understood. She nodded softly to him before drawing a breath to read the next name.


	5. Nymphadora Tonks

Narcissa winced as her niece’s name was read. The list was long, contained the names of many of her friends, and their children. But this name, her sister’s child, was the name of stranger. Her mother had cast Andromeda out, and she had allowed it, followed orders like a good little girl, and now she was old, and she wished she had been a rebel, as her choices had let her to being relieved at the loss of one sister, and unable to feel the loss of her niece as anything more than sympathy for her sister. She did reach out and take Andromeda’s hand. They sat together now, reunited by tragedy. They had rebuilt their bond probably as much as Narcissa could hope and for that she was grateful.  
Andromeda squeezed her sister’s hand gratefully. She new Cissy was full of regrets, but she was glad to be able to say that she wasn’t. She missed her husband and daughter terribly, everyday, but they had helped saved the wizarding world and she was fiercley proud. Her daughter had died hand in hand with a man she loved, and they had been fighting for everything they believed in, and while it wasn’t exactly a comfort, it allowed her peace. She leaned into Teddy as he put an arm around her, laying his head on top of hers. Yes she missed them, but she was surrounded by love still, and she counted herself among the lucky ones.


	6. Fred Weasley

George choked back a sob as his twin’s name rang across the room. Twenty years had done nothing to close the gaping wound in his soul. In moments like these it was fresh, it was like he was still sitting in the floor of the great hall staring at Fred’s lifeless body. Most days he muddled through, and some days he was even happy, but the pain was always there. There were mind healers and potions and exercises to help him cope, but he’d never been able to distance himself in the way that others had. He dearly wished he could, He’d learned healthy ways to cope with his grief, but on one really knew how deep it still ran. He truly felt like part of himself had been lost that day. While most people had lost a loved one, he’d lost half of himself. Angelina was his rock, her hand tracing gentle circles on his back, he couldn’t count the times she held him as he himself to sleep. Usually on his birthday, the family still celebrated, they always took time to remember Fred, and it was always a bit melancholy. George was sure his brother would hate to know he was so morose, Fred had been the embodiment of lighthearted fun and mischief, but so many forgot the heart that had been lost that day. The heart that felt deeply the pain of those around him, and only wanted to bring joy and laughter to ease the pain. Without Fred here to help him through his grief, George didn’t think he would ever get through it. He was glad Fred’s name was near the end of the list as Hermione read the last few, he slipped quietly from the room and escaped to the solitude of the forest.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a few days late. The Battle of Hogwarts Anniversary is also my birthday, so I've been a bit busy, but I was inspired by a Tumblr post to write this little drabble reflecting on where the characters might be now. This is HP Canon compliant and Cursed Child compliant-ish.
> 
> Tumblr post inspiration here: http://yall-mothafuckas-need-misha.tumblr.com/post/173521296950/jjoey387-2nd-may-1998-20-years-ago-today


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